In the last two years, since Donald Trump became the U.S. President, we have seen in America, and also throughout the World, a disruption in the New World Order. Why? Because President Trump has declared that he is not the President of the world, but the President of America. Hence, all of his policies are for American interests only. His theme says it all—Make America Great Again (MAGA).

But the most exciting development happening in the world—for those who are interested in Bible Prophecy and are excited for the return of Jesus Christ—is that Donald Trump and his nationalistic agenda is definitely accelerating Bible prophecy. We see this mainly because of the recent alignment of Russia, Turkey and Iran. I think we will also be seeing this alignment accelerated more as Trump seems to be more and more interested in pulling our troops out of Syria and Afghanistan. We will…

The Bible tells us that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and to the knowledge of the truth (2 Pet. 3:9, 1 Tim. 2:4). For this reason, He wants us to pray for the lost—for all the lost. It is how God has designed for people to be saved (Rom. 10:1).

But we should also pray for ourselves—because we are the instruments that God has chosen to pray for them and to bring them to Christ. Of course, in our own ability we will fail, because we naturally lack the desire, the skill, and the courage to witness. But with prayer, God will work the power of His own Spirit in us, so that many may be delivered out of the power of darkness and into His marvelous light.

Now the most vital thing we need as witnesses is to be empowered with boldness to proclaim the gospel. This, I think, should be the focal point or the climax of all our requests concerning our witness, for it is what we often can’t seem to find in ourselves. When we pray, of course we should pray over all the difficulties and problems, and over all the areas that will help us to be bold, but we should especially pray that we would be empowered by the Holy Spirit. For without His power and leading, all our witnessing will be in vain and ineffective.

I have formulated a list of ten requests. In this post I will just list the points. In the next few post I will talk about them.

Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” This verse suggests three levels of intensity in prayer: asking, seeking, and knocking.

The first level,asking, is where prayer begins. Anyone can ask—even a small child. In fact, children tend to ask for things in prayer more than adults. But God wants us all to ask, and often. Jesus told His disciples to ask for things in prayer so that their joy would be full—that is, so that they would receive joy in seeing God answer their prayers (Jn. 16:24). Likewise, the book of James (Ja. 4:2-3) suggests that we ask for things whenever we desire them, as long as our requests are according to His will.

A second level of earnestness is seeking. According to Wesley Duewel, “[This level] searches to find possible reasons why the answers to prayer may have been hindered… [It] involves heart searching.”5 Seeking in prayer is also, no doubt, an intense yearning for God—seeking to find His will, seeking to feel His heart.

The third level of earnestness is knocking. Knocking is being persistent with God. It is praying as Jesus did, with loud crying and tears (Heb. 5:7). Says Duewel, “[Knocking is] storming the gates of heaven,”6

Jesus implored us to use all three of these levels of prayer. For He says to us, “Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matt. 7:8).

On this Christmas day, and soon to begin the New Year, I think it would be a great idea to start developing a more earnest prayer life. Here are some ideas I have put together. Merry Christmas!

Ask God for it. If you prayed that your prayers would be more earnest, do you think God would grant your request? Think about it… Of course He would! Because that kind of prayer will always be according to His will. It’s a prayer that won’t be refused.

Have a regular prayer time. Be faithful to God in your prayer times. And most importantly, have one regular prayer time and stick with it. The loyalty you show the Lord in your showing up at appointed times for prayer will surely pay off. He will reward you for your loyalty by stirring up in your mind desires that burn for righteousness and for the conversion of lost souls. He will give you His own earnest heart.

Keep a listening ear for any prayer assignments God is giving you. If you feel a burden to pray for someone, make that your responsibility. Cling to it and cherish it. Pray every chance you get over that burden. You will find that as you pray more frequently for a need, your love for God and for others will grow, and so will your earnestness.

Commit yourself to evangelism and discipleship. If you pour out your heart to serve the ones you are teaching, don’t be surprised when God gives you a deep, heart-felt affection for them—so much so, that your prayers for them will burn with fervency.

Position yourself for earnest prayer. If you really want to pray with earnestness, get on your knees in readiness before the Lord. Wait on Him there, and believe that He will send fire from heaven to burn in your heart the desires of His heart. Even if you don’t feel a burden to pray for anything in particular, or even if you don’t feel like praying at all, it is a faithful and loyal act for you to remain on your knees before the Lord—and He will surely reward your prayer efforts.

Fast. Fasting is a sure way to develop your earnestness. By letting go of your natural desire for food, God will tune your spirit to His Spirit, and fill your soul with deep, earnest prayer.

Don’t neglect fellowship. Be involved with others in groups, and individually, always endeavoring to build friendships. As you develop a love for others you will pray more earnestly for them.

Abide in the Word. As you treasure His words in your heart and seek to obey Him, you will grow to love Him, and He will show His love to you. He will give you His own heart of earnestness.

With the Syria pullout, are we seeing biblical prophecy unfold before our very eyes?

Recently President Trump announced that he is returning all of our troops from Syria home. I’m not sure how I feel about this move. I do think that in this day of evil, war is always necessary and that we need to be always fighting against evil on all sides in order to preserve peace.

However, according Washington, Jefferson and Eisenhower, we need to stay away from entangling alliances.

We could probably come up with several reasons to pray with earnestness. Here are three that stand out to me.

First of all, we should pray with earnestness because of our great need for God. Truth has gone out the window, sin is rampant, and the world is lost. Where once swearing and dirty talk was forbidden on TV and radio, now it is common place and even applauded. Where once adultery, immorality and divorce were shameful, now it is accepted as the norm, even among those who say they are Christians. Today pornography is everywhere; you can’t go anywhere or do anything without seeing it. Yes, we (all people) have a great need for God and for moral purity. For this reason, prayer is needed—earnest prayer is needed!

Secondly, we should pray with earnestness because it is the way Jesus prayed and the way He would want us to pray. For He was in all points tempted as we are (Heb. 4:15), yet He always overcame temptation by earnest prayer. In Hebrews 5:7 it says, “During the day of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and he was heard because of His reverent submission” (NIV).

Thirdly, earnestness is the way God has ordained for us to break through to Heaven in order to obtain the blessings He wants to give us. For God has “Blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3), and in order to actually take and receive those blessings it will take earnest prayer.

And why is this so? It is because the flesh and the devil are strong and stubborn, and we need God’s strength to clear our mind of evil and selfishness—so that we can see clearly to set our mind on things above (Col. 3:2). As E. M. Bounds has stated, “The atmosphere about us is too heavily charged with resisting forces for limp or languid prayers to make headway. It takes heat, and fervency and meteoric fire, to push through, to the upper heavens, where God dwells with His saints, in light.”4

After a Christian sins there is always remorse and hopefully repentance. But if you don’t remember what Christ has done for you and what grace He has offered you, there may be undue shame and depression. Read these words by Paul and be happy and thankful:

Colossians 1:21b-22

You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22 yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you standing before him without a single fault. (NLT)

But how can it be that a sinful person like you and me can be blameless? At times we feel so guilty! And ashamed. There is a song which Lauren Daigle has made quite popular, which is titled, How Can It Be. In the first few lines the author expresses his (or her) deep feelings of guilt and shame and unworthiness. I think we have all felt the same thing from time to time. Then the lyrics continue in the next few lines to remember what Christ had done for us. He died for us and so has righted our wrongs. And so the song goes.

Please, whatever you are going through, whatever sins you have committed don’t doubt God’s love for you. Don’t let guilt and shame overcome you. Except His forgiveness and reflect on His great love. Where there is sin there is always His grace.